Prophecy of Darkness
Prophecy of Darkness chronicles the final few days of Rernahk's life in his old universe, and his memories of his past life. It was written by Nuju of Ice for the Rernahk Backstory Contest. Chapter 1 Rernahk stared coldly up at Makuta Zarrikini. She stood at least ten feet tall, and was a formidable presence wherever she went. "Rahkshi Rernahk!" she demanded. Rernahk bowed in the tradition of the Rahkshi in Zarrikini's army. "Yes, master," he whispered. Zarrikini's face twisted into a sinister grin. "The time has come. You are ready for the challenge presented by these Toa?" Rernahk stood up to full height. Even still, he was barely half Zarrikini's height. "Of course, Zarrikini. Why else do you think we trained for so long in that wretched camp?" Zarrikni let back her head and laughed. She laughed so hard and long Rernahk thought she would cry. "Excellent, then. We begin the fight tomorrow. But be warned: The Toa have the strength of the Matoran as well as themselves. They are a threat to us all." Rernahk sighed. He knew he had to serve his master Zarrikini, but secretly he doubted her mission and its morality. After all, the Toa stood for justice. Zarrikini, on the other hand, was as unjust as Teridax. Rernahk had been in charge of Zarrikini's army for months, and the death tolls in his battles had been unbearable. Now he knew what he had to do: take a Toa captive and then "accidentally" let them break free and confront Zarrikini. It wouldn't be easy. Zarrikini was guarded heavily by other Rahkshi wherever she went. Certainly they wouldn't allow mere Toa to attack their master? Zarrikini was not a mind-reader, yet she sensed Rernahk's unease. Her eyes darkened. Why was Rernahk like that so much of the time? She interrupted his plans by snapping, "Well? Get to it!" Rernahk's mind wandered to his past as a commander in Zarrikini's army. He remembered it all too well now... the smell of fresh blood, the mangled bodies that were once Matoran, and most of all, the scars he and his comrades had sustained during the war. His eyes narrowed at these thoughts, and flames leapt in his heart, licking at his mind. He remembered it all... "Tarricus! Parakio! Ready the Shadow Cannon!" yelled Zarrikini. She sharpened her weapon on a rock nearby, and held it up into the sky. "Charge, minions!" she ordered, and the Rahkshi began to attack the Matoran of Zeveron. The scene was littered with rock, both on the battlefield and on the cliffs where Zarrikini stood. Rernahk turned to the rogue Makuta, and asked her a simple question: why were her aides Jekkan and Kogai not present? Zarrikini's eyes narrowed at her Rahkshi commander. "Because they are down on the battlefield, in charge of the Shadow Visorak hordes. Does that satisfy your thirst for understanding?" Rernahk nodded. He fully understood. He raised his Staff of Molecular Disruption into the air and shouted, "Rahkshi! Begin your attack on the Po-Matoran now!" Twelve Rahkshi of Fragmentation wheeled around to attack the bulky Po-Matoran at the back lines of the Matoran army. Their shattering bombs obliterated their leader and a few dozen others. Rernahk looked away in horror, holding out his staff. Without looking at the battle, he ordered, "Lerahk! Poison the Matoran generals!" Eight Lerahk held out their staffs, and shot poisonous blobs at the Turaga in the center of the Matoran armies. Instantly, one of them crumpled to the ground, while others seemed to choke from the toxins. Meanwhile, another eight Lerahk had poisoned the Matoran generals, and they seemed to be suffering from the same disaster. Rernahk gasped at the sight of al the carnage taking place. He had thoughts, just like a Matoran, Makuta, or Toa. Why was he being treated as a coldhearted killing machine? The battle raged on, and over the next few minutes, over a thousand Matoran fell at the hands of the Rahkshi, and another five hundred at the hands of the Visorak. Many Rahkshi fell too, and Zarrikini felt they needed better leadership. "Get down there and do the fighting yourself! Maybe then the fools will see how to fight!" Rernahk tried desperately to resist, but Zarrikini had pushed him off the cliff. He hurled himself as hard as he could down at the battle... Chapter 2 As Rernahk landed, he saw about three dozen Matoran of Plasma charging towards him. Calmly, he used his staff to kill a dozen of them by disrupting their bodies into torn-apart messes. Then, as the others approached, he let out a war cry and charged straight at them. Using his wrist blade, he sliced off the weapon of a Ta-Matoran that had joined the frenzy, and he hardly noticed the sharp pain in his left shoulder as he slashed a Kanohi Huna off a Ba-Matoran's face. A group of Plasma Matoran had cut him off, and were shooting at him furiously. Rernahk hoped help would arrive soon, or he might not survive this duel. Meanwhile, the Rahkshi were stepping up their attack, and a group had noticed Rernahk in the cluster of Matoran. The Guurahk that saw him first screeched, and about ten Rahkshi followed their ally to the battle. They were bruised badly, but now they finally saw Rernahk in the center of the group, half dead. They fought hard, and at last, Guurahk picked him up and charged out. Rernahk, meanwhile, lost consciousness. "Where am I?" he asked. He saw Parakio above him, using his healing powers to patch Rernahk's wounds. Zarrikini and Tarricus stood nearby, watching anxiously. Zarrikini noticed he was awake, and strode toward him. "Heal up quickly, Rernahk, for Jekkan tells me we have a new battle. The Brotherhood has noticed our actions have violated their code of law. They will be here by tomorrow." Rernahk seethed with rage at these memories. He walked off, with his new mission to find and kill the Toa Pharys. His plan was erased, as Zarrikini had doubled her bodyguards. No chance of the Toa breaking through that. Secretly, he knew of an artifact possesed by Lucane, one of the Toa Pharys, with the power to transport its user to another universe. It was called the Olmak Nui, and it would be a perfect way to escape Zarrikini. But now, he decided to find peace, and planned to flee in the morning. Now was the time to prepare. He tossed and turned, unable to sleep that night. When he saw the sun rise, he threw his staff over his shoulder and walked out into the daylight. But now, Zarrikini grew suspicious. Rernahk had not reported yet, and it was late in the morning. Her patience grew thin, and she growled in fury. She beckoned for Parakio and Tarricus, and whispered secret orders to them to track down Rernahk. Later on, the search had been futile for hours. Parakio asked Tarricus, "Do you think she's right about Rernahk?" Tarricus turned and faced his friend. "About him deserting? Yes. I never liked that guy." Chapter 3 Rernahk walked on. He thought he was nearing the sea, but he wasn't sure. He didn't care, anyway. But he was starting to have nagging doubts, like a krana taking over his body. He thought maybe Zarrikini would follow him, and track him down until he was found. Then... Rernahk tried not to think about what would happen then. As if to give him more discomfort, he suddenly felt light-headed. He sat down on a rock, but that didn't help. Suddenly he saw things that were nowhere near where he was now. They were images unbearable to him: Zarrikini, Tarricus, and Parakio stood over a dead body. Rernahk's body. Rernahk felt relieved to wake up. He pressed on in his journey, shaken by the vision, but not stopped. Night fell, and Rernahk slept peacefully. He had not been found, and things were going well. At least, disregarding the vision. He became less peaceful as the night wore on. Another vision, this one of him being torn apart by a dimensional portal. Restless and sleepless, he woke up before sunrise and marched on. Rernahk was still marching when he saw two figures off in the distance. He didn't pay much attention to them until they got closer. That was when he recognized them as Parakio and Tarricus. They were close now. Close enough for Rernahk and Tarricus to get into a fistfight. But they didn't. Rernahk stepped back as Tarricus raised his weapon, a borrowed Nynrah Ghostblaster. "Go no further, traitor! I am arresting you in the name of --" But he should have confiscated Rernahk's staff, for a bolt of pure energy erupted from its tip that instant. It seperated Tarricus and Parakio's particles for a second, and that was all Rernahk needed. He hopped quickly on his staff and flew out over the ocean. Meanwhile, on the barren island Skodian, the Toa Pharys were stranded for a while. Their boat had run aground during the evacuation of Mata Nui, and now they were in dire need of materials to repair it. "Ugh, I always get the shiver-chills when I come here," muttered Zelev, Toa of Air. "Ever since that fight-battle with the Makuta... Brrrr!" Thadakk, Toa of Stone, laughed. He leaned closer to Toa Ignika and whispered, "I never get tired of hearing this guy. He's so funny." Ignika looked back over his shoulder at the Toa of Ice, Lucane, and the Toa of Water, Gakelna. Until recently, their roles had been filled by Nuju and Gali. Out loud, he said, "Those two are strange. I got used to Nuju and Gali being here. I wish they were now." Veravax, Toa of Fire, cocked his head to one side. "Why? We know they had reasons. Nuju had the Ko-Matoran to lead, and Gali had the Toa Nuva to return to. You should be thankful that we found Toa to fill in." Thadakk cried out, "I know this island too well, and still we have found no resources! Why me?!" Gakelna looked at the Toa of Stone, who had once been a Skakdi. She knew it was natural for Thadakk to experience these moments and express his frustration that way, being a Skakdi, but she just couldn't stop herself. "You don't know everything, Thadakk. None of us do. That is why we have each other to depend upon. Are you willing to accept help, or are you to stubborn?" Thadakk suddenly seemed strange. If Nuju had still been there, he would have said it felt like Onewa was there. The Skakdi-turned-Toa retorted, "I never said I wouldn't accept help. And I never said I knew everything." Of course, he didn't know it all, and one of those things was that Rernahk had just flown over Skodian and was landing on a cliff above them just now. He dismounted his staff, and muttered to himself things about peace and serenity. Then his foot accidentally kicked a pebble off the cliff. It fell off one cliff after another, and then it finally landed at the feet of Toa Zelev. "Okay, Thadakk, very funny," he called, but Thadakk didn't answer. "Thadakk?" Finally an answer came. "I... didn't... do... that!" gasped the Toa of Stone. Panic grabbed hold of Rernahk now. Toa! And not just any Toa, but the ones he had been ordered to hunt down! Now was his chance to turn them in to Zarrikini! But Rernahk didn't take it. He no longer was Zarrikini's friend. She was his enemy, and he was hers. And that was probably why her armies were just landing on the cliffs. Zarrkini smiled darkly when she saw Rernahk trapped by his former minions, and even more so when she saw the Toa. She threw back her head and laughed. "It's begun! The end of the Toa!" Lucane, holding the Olmak Nui, looked up and felt a pain run through his body. He knew that the Olmak Nui was an obvious target for Zarrikini and her minions. It had been one of Mata Nui's treasures, and he had been chosen to guard it. Now... it was as good as lost. Rernahk was also as good as lost. He fired his staff desperately at the Rahkshi surrounding him, but they dodged and then countered. A Guurahk's staff may have been Rernahk's end if it had not hit one of Panrahk's Shatter Bombs. Both of them exploded harmlessly in front of Rernahk. He instantly jumped up, and on his way down to the next cliff, he flicked his wrist blade at the Panrahk. One down... 800,000 to go. Rernahk landed between two Rahkshi of Anger. They fired simultaneously and Rernahk leapt out of the way. The two Rahkshi hit each other and descended into a rage. Rernahk hurled himself off the cliff, again flicking his blade at a Rahkshi of Heat Vision. Falling, he balanced himself and aimed for the middle of the battle at the bottom of the canyon. He saw his staff falling, and knew this was his lucky break. Grabbing the staff, he charged at the Toa, and knowing this was his only hope of escape, grabbed the Olmak Nui. Activating its power, he screamed out in pain as a bolt of lightning zapped at him. Then he fell into a portal. Immediately it closed, leaving the Olmak Nui on the ground at Lucane's feet. Both Toa and Makuta were paralyzed, and at last the Toa ran, Tarricus and Parakio trailing them. Using bits of fallen Rahkshi armor, they were ready to fix their boat and set sail. But Rernahk's fate was unknown to all of them. They would believe him to be dead for years. But he wasn't dead. He wasn't coming to an end... instead, he was arriving at a new beginning. Epilogue The sun rose on life for Rernahk. He was thrilled to be alive, and to feel the sun rise again. He knew not where he was, but he would someday learn to call this place Voya Nui. He picked up his staff, and stared off over the water. From the beach he was on, most would have seen a simple sunrise, but Rernahk saw life. He marched to the water's edge, hopped on his staff, and rode off into the morning. There was a new life before him, and it was up to him to live it. Characters *Rernahk *Zarrikini *Tarricus *Parakio *Lucane *Gakelna *Zelev *Veravax *Thadakk *Ignika *Several Turaga (most deceased) *Many Matoran (some deceased) *Many Rahkshi (some deceased) *Nuju (mentioned only) *Gali (mentioned only) *Onewa (mentioned only) Category:Stories Category:User:Nuju of Ice